The classical period of Greek history saw a surge in the arts, brought on by confidence and strength in Athens following its victory over the invading Persians. The aftermath of the Persian war allowed Athens and its would-be empire to consolidate, an environment in which people were able to express their culture more prominently. The first democracy, though primitive, burgeoned in the Athenian government, which put an elite class of thinkers, inventors and artists in positions of power. From this well sprang a wealth of poets producing new types of theatre - comedy and tragedy - which examined the human condition and social issues of the day more keenly. At the same time, having the learned in a stronger position meant that philosophy and the arts collided, as schools of rationalism discussed the human form. The wealthy still became patrons, and the vast swathe of pottery and paintings produced were commissioned either for individuals or by the state to create edifices to history, such as the commemoration of the climactic Battle of Marathon.
